In order to support the use of public transport, there should be a reward for those who are everyday users of public transport because they are not clogging the roads & polluting the air.

Transit Malaysia proposes that the government offer income tax credits of minimum RM300 to those who purchase 12 monthly public transport passes in one tax year. Lesser credits would be made available to those who purchase fewer than 12 passes.

TRANSIT has also made the following comment and proposal:

Public transport in Malaysia is unreliable, infrequent and plagued by inefficient competition. The government plans to put “RAPID” bus services in every major capital city. However, these companies would not be local or locally accountable and would instead answer to decisions made by Prasarana in KL.

TRANSIT Malaysia proposes that the government create local/regional public transport organizing authorities to manage and organize public transport services in the Klang Valley and other economic regions.

There is obviously more to be said, especially on the failure of our existing poorly-regulated, non-accountable and ineffective public transport system,but we only had 500 characters available in which to post.

TRANSIT asks for your support in promoting comments that support efficient, wise investments that will improve public transport operations throughout Malaysia.

TRANSIT took note of the fact that the Klang Valley MRT (now referred to as MyRapidTransit) was launched by the Prime Minister at KL Convention Centre on 8 July 2011.

The launching, which took place in the morning and included a ground-breaking ceremony at the Rubber Research Institute and Jalan Cochrane sites, as well as the first singing of the MRT song by Jaclyn Victor and Badri.

TRANSIT has always had a soft spot for Klang town, despite what people may think. Aside from the food (different options for different people) and the culture, Klang Town is the nearest thing we can find in the Klang Valley to an “urban” town with heritage and cultural traditions.

Certainly there are areas of Kuala Lumpur that are “urban” in the sense that they have pedestrian-scale streets bustling with people. Similar areas can also be found in other towns in the Klang Valley – like Kajang, Petaling Jaya and parts of Ampang.

But none of these areas have the history and independence that Klang does.

And this is why we at TRANSIT have always made an effort to ensure that the urban character and heritage of Klang is retained. Unfortunately, it seems that the Selangor Government and MPK just does not agree. Through their (probably well-meaning) actions, with short term responses to long-term issues, they have managed to hollow out the urban core of North Klang and replace what was once a thriving, pedestrian oriented commercial centre with congestion, poor public transport, and dying businesses.

TRANSIT took note of this very surprising (but not wholly unexpected) statement from Perkasa, a Malay-rights organization headed by MP Ibrahim Ali, claiming that MMC-Gamuda was blocking Bumi companies in the MRT project.

This is in response to complaints mentioned in the Malaysian media recently that some contractors felt “left out” by the scale of the project.

Of course it is one thing to have a massively scaled project that is beyond the reach of some companies – but the allegations of ‘blocking’ constitute a different set of issues – issues that we wish were handled properly.

Is this a systematic ‘blocking’ as alleged by Perkasa, or just good business practices by Prasarana? Or something else entirely? We will have to wait and see the response

But hey, this is an update related to the MRT project – so it might as well be discussed here on Malaysia’s Public Transport Forum.

TRANSIT took note of this article which mentions the plan to build an integrated transport hub in Bandar Seri Alam, Johor, which would include commuter rail, feeder bus and taxi services.

The commuter rail will connect residents of the Eastern Gate of the Iskandar Development Region with JB via the new Kempas Sentral railway hub at Kempas Baru, which is described as being several times bigger than KL Sentral.

TRANSIT took note of this article which describes a complaint about continued traffic mayhem in Brickfields, despite the change to 1-way operation on Jalan Tun Sambanthan as well as increased amounts of parking space.

Check out the double parking – now on both sides of Jalan Tun Sambanthan!

RESIDENTS of Bandar Kinrara 3 in Puchong, who were eagerly anticipating the arrival of the LRT in their area are shocked to know that the final rail alignment will see the clearing of trees in a small buffer zone separating their homes from the Bukit Jalil Highway.

In the limelight: Residents propose that instead of building the LRT line in an area that is filled with green and acts as a buffer zone, Prasarana should instead build the line in the middle of the highway. Image courtesy of The Star.

TRANSIT wishes to thank the public for their feedback and attention to public transport issues over the past few years.

We have developed a wonderful community of people who are interested in improving transport in general (and public transport in particular) in the Klang Valley & Malaysia.

On 14 February 2011, the day after the MRT Open Day, TRANSIT recorded our highest website views ever in one day, at 3,830 views. Average page views are now at 1000 views daily over the past year.

We are humbled and thankful for all the “love” that we have received and of course, we will continue to do our best to raise public awareness about transport in general and public transport in particular.

We also need the best from our viewers and readers. Please, tell your friends about TRANSIT. Please, comment in our posts and share your comments with the relevant authorities. Please, give us feedback so we can keep doing what we do best – working hard to make sure that we have the best public transport system for the Klang Valley & Malaysia.